U.S. in talks with U.S. airlines about expiring Russia overflight deal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department met with U.S. commercial and cargo carriers on Tuesday over their concerns about the looming expiration of an agreement with Russia's civil aviation agency that could interrupt flights over Russia, a spokeswoman said.

The agreement between the U.S. carriers and the Russian government expires at 7:59 p.m. (2359 GMT) on Tuesday, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told a daily briefing.

"We don't want that kind of aviation disruption, so we're trying to facilitate a working arrangement," Nauert said, adding the Russian government had canceled a meeting in Washington earlier this week to discuss renewing the agreement.